This base is thought to be the base of the golden tripod dedicated by the Greeks to thank Apollo for the victory in Plataea (480BC) (reported by Pausanias X. 13. 9. Another theory is that this is base of the tripod dedicated by Crotonians to thank the victory against Sybaris.
The golden tripod was snatched and melted by the Phocians during the third Sacred War.
The gilded bronze column, formed by intertwinning three snakes, was 5.5 metre tall and the names of the Greek city-states that contributed to the victory of Plataea were inscribed on it.
This column was standing here until the early 4th century, when Constantine the Great brought it away to Constantinople and erected in the Hippodorome. It is still standing at the same place in Istanbul.
The square base at the left was for the Helios on Chariot dedicated by the Rhodians.
Reference
- Robin Barber, Greece (Blue Guide), London- N.Y. 2001 (Revised reprint of the 6th edition of 1995), pp. 397-398.
- Christopher Mee & Antony Spawforth, Greece (An Oxford Archaeological Guide). Oxford/ OUP, 2001, p. 309.
- Photios Petsas, Delphi : Monuments and Museum. Athens : Krene Editions, 2008, p. 47.
Back to the Page Top
